Mesorat%20hashas for Rosh Hashanah 5:16

בשלמא היאך מפרש דלארתחשסתא אלא האי ממאי דלארתחשסתא דילמא

[This cannot be for two reasons.] One is that we never find the second day of the week mentioned in Scripture, and the other is that the second 'sheni' [second] is put on the same footing as the first sheni, [indicating that] just as the first sheni refers to a mo so the second sheni refers to a month. It has been taught in accordance with R'Johanan: How do we know [from the Scripture] that the years of kings' reigns are always reckoned as commencing from Nisan? Because it says, 'And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt etc. ,' and it is further written, 'And Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, etc. ,' and it is further written, And it came to pass in the fortieth year in the eleventh month',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This citation is inserted in the text on the authority of Maharsha. It is certainly necessary.');">¹⁸</span> and it is further written, 'After he had smitten Sihon etc:,' and it is further written, And all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead etc. ,' and it is further written, 'And it came to pass in the first month in the second year etc. , and it is fur written, 'And it came to pass in the second year in the second month etc. ,' and it is further written, 'In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt etc. ,' and it is further writt 'And he began to build etc.' R'Hisda said: The rule [that New Year for kings is in Nisan] was only meant to apply to the kings of Israel, but the years of non-Israelitish kings are reckoned from Tishri,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The seventh month.');">¹⁹</span> as it says, The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. Now it came to pass in the month of Kislev,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The ninth month.');">²⁰</span> in the twentieth year<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Neh., I, 1.');">²¹</span> etc. , and it is written further, And it came to pass in the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid, II, 1.');">²²</span> Now since when speaking of Kislev he places it in the twentieth year and when speaking of Nisan he places it also in the twentieth, we may conclude that New Year is not in Nisan. [This, however, is not conclusive]. In the latter text, it is true, it is expressly stated that [it was the twentieth year] of Artaxerxes, but in the forme do we know that the reign of Artaxerxes is referred to? Perhaps

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